Valve



Patented Nov. 27, 1923.

niTED STATES PATENT orties,

THEODORE DOUGLAS, OF SCARBORO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO DUPLEX ENGINE'GOVERNOR COMPANY, INC., OF BROOKLYN,

YORK.

NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW VALVE.

Application filed April 17, 1919. Serial No. 299,666.

To all wiz-0m t?? may concern.' y

Be it known that I, THEoDoRE DOUGLAS, a citizen of the United States,residing in Scarboro, in the countyof Westchester and State of `NewYork, have inventedicertain new and useful Improvements in Valves, ofwhich the following is a specification.

Il have invented an improvement incregulating valves and operating meanstherefor; particularly a-'valve designedtobe utilized in connection withinternal combustion engines and other prime movers for the purpose ofresponding to the action of a lgovernor and throttling the motive agentwhen the limiting speed of the engine is reached, and cutting olf themotive agent as soon as this limiting speed is exceeded.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a valve which is simplein construction and embraces relatively few parts, and of which themovable elements require to be actuated through only a very smalldistance to be caused to travel from full open position to fullY closedposition and vice versa; whereby, after the limiting speed is oncereached, a very small increase in the speed of operation will cause thevalve to be closed entirely, and a very small decrease below thelimiting speed will cause' the valve to return to full open position;thus enabling the engine to be controlled in a quick and' accuratemanner by the governor as the latter acts in accordance with changes inengine speed.

A further object of my invention is to provide a valve which comprises anumber of relatively movable parts or elements, all of which areconnected together so as to operate in unison, and which require to bemoved through only a short distance; in order to stop th-e flo-w' ofmotive agent through the supply conduit to the engine; or, after thuscutting off the motiveV agent, to restore free communication between theengine and the source from which said motive agent is derived. e

- Another object of my invention is to provide a valve comprisingshutter elements which not only throttle but also' give a veryadvantageous mixing action.

rhe above and other objects of my invention will clearly appear in thefollowing description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings forming part of the same; and the characteristics of myinventio-n will be precisely dened in the appended claims. I do not wishto be limited, however, to the exact embodiment herein shown, but Ireserve the right to make changes in the structure by which my inventionis practiced, especially as regards the shape, size and arrangement ofthe parts of the same, within the scope and spirit of my invention,consistent with the general meanings of the terms in which the claimsare expressed, and as indicated by variations in the wording of thesame.

On the drawings:-V Y

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a. construction madeaccording to my invention; Figure 2 is a top planof a part of whatl isshown in Figure l, illustrating the elements composing the valve;

Figure 3 presents a detail of what is shown in Figure l; and

Figure 4 is an outside end view of what is shown in Figure A1. l

rThe same numerals identify the same parts throughout.

In the particular description of the construction shown in the drawings,I show at l a housingfor my improved valve and the means for operatingsame. This housing is preferably made in two sections; one of which,indicated by the numeral 2, has a passage 3 through it, and is providedwith a valve l; preferablymounted at one end of this passage. The valve4E is made up of a number of elements arranged parallel with oneanother, and it is moved to open or closed position by a governor 5arranged in the other section 6 of the housing l, which is bolted orotherwise secured'to the section 2. The section 2 is arranged to beinsertedin the line of a conduit, such as the intake pipe of an internalcombustion engine; and the governor 5 comprises centrifugally actuatedweights, driven in accordance with the speed of the engine, to throttlethe motive agent flowing Vthrough the conduit 3, when the engine reachesits limiting speed, and to cut ofi' this motive agent as soon as the'limitingspeed is exceeded. To enable the housing 1 to be supported inoperative position both ends of the casing 2 will be fianged orotherwise shaped to permit adjacent ends of sections of the intakeconduit to be bolted or otherwise fastened to same.

@ne end such as the Lipper end of section 2 is counterbored to provide ashoulder 7 against which fits a ring 8 in which the valve 4 issupported. rlhis ring 8 will have a flange 9 to engage a shoulder lOprovided in the adjacent end of the section 2, and it will be secured inplace by screws or other suitable fastening means.. The opening throughthe ring 8 is indicated by the nuF meral 11 and this opening has such anout line, that it can be controlled by a number' of parallel elements12which have the formof shutters and constitute the valve 4. The elements12 are fixed to spindles or shafts 13, which are pivotally mounted inthe ring 8; or these elements may have trunnions at their ends whichalso pivotally engage the ring 8; and each element 12 will have a pairof rigitL arms 14 adjacent the middle of same. The arms 14 on eachelement are joined by a pin 15; and all the pins 15 are connected Vby alink 16, pivotally engaging the pins, and disposed between the arms 14of each element 12; and through the link the arms 14 canbe actuated andthe elef ments 12 moved. i

As shown Vin Figure 1, each of the shutter elements 12, has its oppositefaces parallel, because each of them is shaped somewhatlike aparallelogram. or rhombus in crosssection. That is, the elementscontract towards their sides, because the opposite faces convergetowards the lateral edges of the elements 12. Owing to the shape andarrangement of these elements, the passages through the valve firstcontract, and then expand, bothwhen the valve is in full open positionand for every other position except "closed position'. In other words,the passage between any two elements 12 resembles to some extent, aVenturi tube,the function and purpose of which l shall mention againlater.

Adjacent the opposite end of the passage 3 I mount a transverse spindle17 which serves as a journal for a hub 18. dle engages the oppositesides of the section 2; being mounted in bosses or bearings 19 and heldagainst endwise displacement in any suitable manner. The hub 18 is rigidwith a pair of parallelV operating arms 2O connected at their outer endsby a transverse brace 21. kThese outer ends are notched and engage oneof the pins 15 the arms 14 bearing this pin being received between thenotched ends ofthe arms 20, as indicated in Figure 3. Nearer to thespindle 17, these arms 2O are also connected by a stud or the like 22which is engaged by a notched head 23. The latter is in the form ofasplit nut,

rhis spinadjustably mounted on an actuating element or rod 24, kwhich isadapted to be recipro cated by the governor; andwhenever the governorexerts sufficient thrust against element 24, the valve is closed. Theelement 24 engages screw-threads in the nut 23, which is pinched aftersplitting, to make it grip the rod 24; and extends'across the passage 3;and between the nut 23 and one side of the passage is a coiled spring 25encircling the element 24 and engaging both the section 2 and the nut23; and acting to oppose the action of the governor 5 on the element 24.This spring tends to hold the valve in open position, and must beovercome by the governor before the valve can be moved.

' At the point where the spring 25 is located,.the section 2 has anexternal boss 26.

This boss is openat its outer end and has a relatively large threadedbore; and the inner end of this borecommunicates through a suitableaperture with the passage 3. The aperture in question is in line withthe element 24, which projects therethrough into the bore of the Lboss26, and terminates in a kerfed head 27. I use a recessed nut 28 toengage the boss 26 and close the same, and this nut has an` aperture toregister with a recess 29 in the edge of the boss; so that a lockingmember may engage both the aperture in the nut 28r and the recess 29,andV fastenthe nut 28 in closing position. Any .kind of suitable lockingmember 30 may be employed; and whenever the locking member is removed,the nut 28 can be unscrewed 'and the' kerfed head 27 engaged by a toolto adjust the element 24 in the head 23. lf desired the element 24 maybe reducedfor grooved just behind the head 24, toen'able it to beengaged by'a tool held in the hand, andy pulled to try the force of thespring 25. n

The governor is actuated by a rotatable shaft 31, in line with the rod24, and mount* ed in a suitable bearing 32 in the side of the section 2.The bearingin question is lined as at 33, and a washer 34 in thisbearing encircles the rod 24 to prevent leakage-between then sections 2and 6. The shaft 31 is hollow andzone end of the same abuts thispacking. It contains a member 35 of considerable mass, and the rodr 24projects through the washer 34 into the shaft 31 so as to engage one endofthis member. The opposite end of this member isV arranged inproximityto a pair of longitudinal slots in the opposite sides of theshaft 31, and through thesel slots projects a bolt or the like 37carried by a sliding head 38 mounted on shaft 31. `Near theyoppositefend of the shaft 31 is a similar head 39, fixed to the shaftand heldv `against movement; -and the two heads 38 and 39.are connectedby links to the governor weights and separated by "an intervening spring40, which normally acts against the vsliding head 384 to bring the linksinto alignment 'and hold the governor weights as close `to the shaft aspossible. The opposite end of the shaft 3.5 is mounted in a bearingprovided by a boss 41v in the section 6, which also is provided with alining33.

The` mode of operation of the construction thus far described, will nowbe apparent. Whenever the engine reaches its limiting speed the rotationof the shaft'131, through the centrifugal actionA of the' governorweights, draws the head 38 towards the head 39; compressing the spring40. Thus a thrust is exerted through the pin 37 on the member 35,'pushing against the rod 24to move the arms 2O to the left, as shown inFigure l, and turn the elements 12 toward closed position. The valve 4will be entirely closed as soon as the limiting speed is exceeded.Normally there -will be a slight space between the member 35 and the pin37, and this member, besides having considerable mass will havefrictional engagement with the inside of the shaft 31. This constructionserves to absorb jars and shocks and prevents erratic movements of thegovernor from actuating the valve. Hence the governor responds only tospeed factors and 1s rendered immune from vibrations and jolting; andthe valve 12 is enabled to be moved only as required.

The section 2 also carries a device such as a screw plug 42, which isadjustable, and

abuts one end of the link 16. The opposite end of the link 16 has aprojection which is received by one end of a spiral spring 43. Thisspring is located in a recess in the bottom of the member 8 andprotrudes into another aperture through the side of section 2. At itsopposite end the spring engages a projection on a nut 44. Obviously byturningV the plug 42 the full open position of the valve can beadjusted, and by turning the nut 44 the tension of the spring'43 can beregulated. Y

Section 6 is also provided with an extension 45 fixed in a seat in theouter end of the boss 41. The end of the shaft 31 in this boss has itsbore made polygonal yin crosssection to receive the correspondinglyshaped end of a drive shaft 46. The extension 45 carries a washer 47fitting against a shoulder in this extension, and surrounding the shaft46 v; and Vthis shaft, which may be a liexible shaft or any other kindof shaft, l

is disposed in a suitable tubular casing 48. This casing is encircled bya bushing 49, which lits the casing snugly and abuts the extension 45.This bushing is encircled by a sleeve 50 which is conical on its inside,and is provided with screw-threads to enable it to bejoined to theextension 45. As shown in Figure 1, when'the sleeve 50 is turned up, itdraws one end of the bushing 49 tightly a head through which passes aring 52 en-V circling sleeve 50. The ring mayhave a cam member 53 toengage the sleeve 50 and Adraw the ring tight.

lBy adjusting the element 24 with reference to the head 23, the speed atwhich the member 35 will thrust against the rod 24, can be varied atwill, andyby adjusting the nut 44 the spring 43 can be regulated. Thisspring insures a quick return of the valve to open `position as soon asthe speed of the engine is reduced. By manipulating the rod 24 with atool and by turning the nut 44 or they screw 42 all the necessaryadjustments can be obtained. A v

The shape of the elements 12 above referred to gives a Venturi-tubeefect, and

makes the valve not only throttle the motive agent flowing through thepassage 3 but also gives a good mixing action, distributing gasolineparticles more evenly through the mixture; whereby the fuel is renderedvery uniform. My valve thus not only serves to throttle and govern theengine, but also enables it to run more advantageously during normaloperation; and proper combustion and higher eiiiciency are secured.

. An oil hole is provided at the top of section 6 and a drain hole atthe bottom; with removable screw plugs'to it the same.

The arms 20 may converge or be bent towards each other at their notchedends if desired to receive the two arms 14'of one element 12 snuglybetween them.

Having described my invention, what l believe to be new and desire to.secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A valveembracing a plurality of movable elements arranged side by side toprovide parallel passages, said passages ex- `panding and thencontracting to give a Venturi-tube elfect for all positions of valveexcept closed position.

j 2. A valve comprising a plurality of pivotted shutter elementsarranged side by'side to provide parallel passages, said passagescontracting and then expanding to give a Venturi-tube effect for allpositions of the valve except closed position.

3. A vlave comprising a plurality of shutter elements having theiropposite faces parallel and contracting in thickness towards theirlateral edges.

4. A valve comprising a plurality of parallel shutter elements, a pairof arms connected to each, pins joining said arms, a link pivotallyconnected to said pins, a notched arm engaging said link, and an elementfor actuating said notched arm.

the

5. In a valve construction, ahub, a pair of parallel arms thereon andrigid therewith, said arms havin notched ends,y and a transverse braceand a stud connecting said-arms. n

'6. The Combination of a valve comprising 4a plurality of shutterelements, a lin-k connecting said elements, an adjustable springabutting one end of said link, and an adjustable device for engaging theopposite end of said link.

7. A valve comprising pivotally mounted, parallel shutter elements, armsthereon, alink connecting the arms, an adjustable stop at one end of thelink, an adjustable spring engaging the opposite end of said link, an

arm for operating the link and an element for actuating said last-namedarm.

8. A valve comprising a plurality of pivoted, parallel shutter elements,said elements having yaces converging towards each side to givefaVenturi-.tube effect.

9. A valve comprising a plurality of parallel, pivoted Vshutter elementshaving faces converging towards each side to give a Venturi-tube effect,apair of arms on each element, a pin joining the arms of each elementalink between the arms of each element ,and connecting said. elementstogether, apair of notched arms receiving the arms of one shutterelement between them and engaging the pin thereof, a head having a notchbetween said operating arms, a stud extending between saidoperating armsto engage the head, and anelement to engage the head to actuate thelatter.

In witness whereof, I` have signed my naine to this specification this27th day of February, 1919.

THEODORE DOUGLAS,

